Bevel gear drive



Aug. 16, 1949. H. J. -RAPUANO BEVEL GEAR DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 29., 1946 Ram W Okav N We@ R E n w, M Wm@ T Hf/A Rw, JMW, 50. my Hou Aug. 16, 1949. H. J. RAPUANO 2,479,406

BEVEL GEAR DRIVEV 4 Filed March 29, 1946 l 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. U Hen/y J Rapaanqpec'd.

. BY 53/ Dofus H Rvajnwar/gmx A T T RNEY Aug. 16, 1949.

H. J.. RAPUANO BEVEL GEAR DRIVE Filed March 29, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Patented ug. 16,V 1949 v non off DelawareV New Haven, VGolm-Qn* assigner gta United Aircraft golfporation, East, Hartford, G onrl., a corpora- .Marcha-9, 194s, .sea-irre. 653,259? V i ffiisinreeliin relates particularly; `to ,.rightf-angled; gea-r drives for fair- Iitgwlfra'fi? igt-Which plurality of` foie; and` vatt i ller shafts? areVl -in-terconnectedby. 'engzmdriven abetting-it lis rnecessaryl.

directed `pre1 trims ,e toitrfansmit high torqtiefgfrom the engines tofth'e shafting angl #iront fthegqshaffting to the Apropeller Shafts, through rightangled gearing. The problimitation present inA th Se, mltbet-thepower cludxlathefshaftingf fee@ nent A Y Fer field in which it is fesnsmissionl elements linndvhousing'pbe kept liiftzeqlli vt'li'roivig-li Vtheconventienal,I fright-angled. gear driYQ- a Irl; azcvnventinnal 1ispirati; lbevel geen tbieeliioeds, and Separating-loads atsthe Spiral geargteethfprodnce unbalanced thrust loads which cause` bending1 @moments luft-he gears landshaft- {angunbalaneed Vnonradial loads in-th`e bearings. These ein tarn setgup bendin'g-moment fine casinglginfthefwebsfof-ethesgears *and 'iny thefshattingfvall of whicheparts frnust b'e increased; in strength to :successfully TeSiStithese forceswith the se ajesuitingI marked uincrease fin fvveight.:A

It is an objectotfthisinvention toprovidesam impiggedwangle --gearrfdrve capable 'of transmitting substantially ldeuble fthe amount fof-V power i that can be transmitted-throughaa (conventional.

auslegen-:drive -Atfr'noifesneci-fc yobjectgof theninvention iis to;

prgvige ai frignteengied geen fdnve infwhieh-@the tht-list; loadsgenerated4v by the ugear teeth -are neiitralize; the Aioals :onythe bearings vare radial and-- bending moments in the gear vcasing :are

inwhicn fthe jdriving power `is Ktransmitted fon thatl the poweijf and-torque qisfequally divided-'be- T501. AA further. -objecty offthe` invention AVisy to provide all., allgle :gear @rive having improvedl me'an's fozy adjusting the :clearance 'between. tlie dnterinesh .l

tweenihe two Sha-ttseoifeach pair.

iri'angleeear drives andy gvenfrnaterialsfa given servicelife and; givenfaccnracyotworltmanship'there is a dennite limit to theamonnt offpowerpthat-Banbetranse' erally stofimnrovestlie oon-structiclmzrandroperatiom vide an improved rightangl1edgearzdrive'system HA; still further-:object oflithe inven-t'ion.fis 'gnf. 65

l Other objects fandfadvantages fof-thea'twentieth;` will be..pointed\out hereinaftei'rswillibeiapparenti from fthe -follovvirag; -de taill=idi dscption rotfftmee embodiment :of thefinventionzsshownby waaier-E example/in the accompanying-drawings:

In thesedrawi-ngsg 1; l

Fig. 1- is apersnective viewxof an'fairplaznefhave1- ingl right-angled-dnive Pmeans.embdyingithegina;

vention;

Eig, '2 :is a somewhat fdagramnaticfviewfonbm enlargeclf-scale of theeimpnoved drivelmeans; Eig, -3. Vis :a diagrammatic fitlnstraton fritta fansV r ventional right-angled bevel gear tltivelfuver'i which :this-inventionionstitutes` an: improvement Eig. Y4Q-is -asectional vieyveonfaneenlarged through agrightang-ledge ait boit-f arrowya force=representedby `the vectorfuJ-issgene erated--at the'fcon-tacting f acesco'fxsthe-:gears *due to;v thezspiral loadqon v4the fgear teeth,. and :a AtorceV represented by the vector,bsis. :generatedsas Stlfref;

result of the `separating load onsthvteeth.: 'The aircraft drive, 'there fis: a denite-limit to the'- horsepower which .can be :transmitted- .throi-igh-'jJ such a :conventional angle gearfdrlve.

fixed maximum ratio between the diameter of the gear and the face length of the teeth of the meshing gear and pinion for a given ratio of gear and pinion diameter. If it is attempted to increase the torque transmitted through the gear drive by increasing the Adiameter of the gear and pinion, the permissible speed in feet per minute at the gear face is exceeded. Thus there exists w for a, given spiral bevel gear drive of this type a definite limit to the power which can be transmitted, and this limit is well below thehorsepower output of the larger 'aircraft engines now in use. The gear drive of the present invention provides means for transmitting these higher horsepowers through a right-angled gear drive.

For purposes of illustration the gear drive of the present invention has been shown as applied to a low aspect ratio, all wing airplane 26 (Fig. 1) having two engines 21 and 28 driving two interconnected oppositely rotating propellers 29 and 30. The two engines-are preferably-opposite rotating engines; however two like rotating engines can be used by inserting al simple reversing gear mechanism in the drive system, preferably on one engine drive shaftY between the engine and the transverse shafting.` :The propellers 29, 316 are carried by forwardly projecting nacelles 32, 34 located at the opposite lateral extremities of the leading edge of the wing which house the usual reduction gearing 36, 88A and propeller drive shafts I- 40, 42 which have their aft ends terminated in anglegear boxes 44,'46,respectively. The reduction` gearing 36, 38 areY identical providing opposite rotation ofthe propeller 29 relative to the propeller 30. v

Engines.21,r28. drive shafts 48, 50 which are suitably supported at their forward ends in gear boxes 52., 54; respectively 'and are interconnected with each other and with the propeller'driveshafts 40, 42 by shafting` generally indicated at 56 which extends transversely between the several gear boxes v44, 52, 54 and 46. The drive system is symmetrical on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the airplane and accordingly the drive means associated with the right hand side of the wingzhas been shownron a larger scale in Fig. 2 to which reference is made for a more detailed description of the drive improvements constituting the invention.

The forward end of engine driven shaft 48 which is disposed within gear box 52 carries a gear 51 having double spiral bevel gear faces 58 and 66 meshing respectively with a pair of equal diameter spiral bevel gears 62, 64.xed to the inboardl ends v of two transverse hollow drive shafts 66 and 68, preferably of aluminum alloy, which extend outboard in parallelrelation and at right angles to shaft 48 and carry at their outboard ends a pair of equal Vdiameter spiral bevel gears 10 and 12. disposed inthe angle gear box 44. The spiral bevel faces of the gears 10, 12 mesh with the opposed bevel gear faces 14, 16 of a double spiral bevel gear 11 fixed on the aft end of propeller drive shaft and located to rotate in the same plane as gear 51. Y

. Thedrive shaft 58 of engine 28 is similarly connected to propeller drive shaft 42.` In order that either engine may drive both propellers in the event of failure of the other engine, means are provided for interconnecting the double bevel gear 51 in the gear box 52 with the corresponding double bevel gear 18 in the gear box 54. To this endtwo parallel hollow drive shafts 19, 818 are provided which extend transversely between gear'` boxes 52 and 54;. These Vshafts carry pairs of spiral bevel gears 82, 84 and 86, 88 at their opposite ends which mesh respectively with the double bevel gears 51 and 18 in gear boxes 52, 54.

Referring again to the right hand angle drive, it will be noted (Fig. 2) that torque loaded shafts 66 and 68 are of like diameter and material and have a like'amount of flexibility and that, since the bevel gears 62 and 64 are of equal diameter and are driven by like bevel gear faces 58 and 60 of the same gear 51, they are always equally torque loaded. Also, since gears 10, 12 on the outboard vends .of shafts 66 and` 68 are of equal diameter,

Y the combinedtorque and power loading of these shafts transferred to gear 11 and propeller drive shaft 40 is equally divided between these parallel shafts. It will be apparent that in conventional rigid shafting, inaccuracies of manufacture or lack of manufacture of the gears to extremely close tolerances would tend to cause one or the other of the shafts to carry more than its proportionate share of Vthe load,` whereas in the present invention the flexibility of the shafting will have the inherent tendency to correct any minor inaccuracies of manufacture of the drive system components with the result that'V the shaft 66. The gear 12 is provided with a similar integral web 98 and hollow hub I 00. The hub |00 is journalled in anti-friction bearings |0| and I0 Ia in the casing 44. Hub |80 carries a Sleeve |02 having a splined connection |04 to a flanged drive member |06 which is connected by'bolts |08tov the flange I I0 on the outboard end of the shaft 68.

It will be noted that the bearings 86 andV |0|`a are supported in a casing wall ||2 which is disposed at right angles to the axes of shafts 66 and 68 while bearings 84 and |0| are similarly disposed in casing walls ||4 and ||6 of casing 44 which are parallel with wall |I2V and arel thus f at right angles to shafts 66 and 68.

The gear 11 is also of very light construction having a thin web I I8 integral with a hollowhub |28 which is journalled in' the casing 44 in antifriction bearings |22 and |24. Here again it will be noted that these bearings are carried by parallel casing walls |26 and |28 which are at` The right angles to the axis of the hub |20. portion of the hub |20 which extends forwardly throughI wall |28 carries a drive sleeve '|30 which 'Y has a splined connection |32 with a flange member |34 which is connected by peripherally-arf ranged bolts |36 with flange |38 on the aft end of propeller drive shaft 48, the drive sleeve |30 being secured axially onv hub |20 by suitable means such as a nut |40.

The forged double bevelY gear 11 has its annular gear face 14 formed integral with the web ||8 thereof and the other annular gear face 16 formed as a separate member |42 having an annular web flange |44 which is secured to the web ||8 of gear 11 by a series of peripherally spaced bolts- |46. Clamped between the web flange |44 and web I I8 are a plurality of annular shims |48 which maybe of various thicknesses by the re- The gear 10 .includes an integral web" moval of which the clearance between the annular gear faces 14, 'I6 of gear 11 and the meshing gears 10, 12 can be varied.

Since the forces exerted on gear 'l1 by pinion 'l0 are exactly neutralized by like forces exerted thereon by pinion 12, it will be clear that no bending moments are set up in the web I| 8 or the gear hub |20. Thus the bearings |22 and |24 receive only purely radial loads and, since the casing walls |26 and |28 in which the hub is journalled are disposed at right angles to the axis of the hub, these casing walls have no bending moments set up therein, all loads being exerted in a direction to stress these casing walls either in tension or compression. Accordingly, the web ||8 and the hub |20 can be very thin light sections and the casing walls can also be correspondingly light as compared with constructions required in conventional right-angled gearing.

Preferably the transverse shafting 56 is made of tubular light-metal alloy, while shafts 40 and 42 are made of a stronger metal tubing. It is not only possible to make the shafts and the gears lighter than is possible with conventional rightangled gearing but since the bending moments previously set up in the casing are eliminated and all unbalanced thrusts are eliminated in the bearing the casing itself is also freed from bending moments and accordingly can be very much lighter than in conventional gearing.

It will be evident that as a result of this invention it has been made possible to transmit substantially twice the amount of power that can be transmitted through a conventional angle gear drive. It will also be evident that as a result of this invention a right-angled gear drive has been provided by which conventional horsepower for such drives can be transmitted with marked savings in the weight of the drive system, thus making these improvements of vital concern in aircraft construction.

While one specific embodiment of the invention has been described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that the embodiment shown is for purposes of illustration only and that various changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an airplane drive having a fore and aft extended propeller shaft and two parallel transverse driving shafts, right angled gears at the intersection f said shafts including a double faced bevel gear on the aft end of said propeller shaft and bevel pinion gears on the ends of said driving shafts, a casing enclosing said bevel gears including three casing sections one of which is disposed at substantially right angles to two of said sections, each of said two sections having platelike walls disposed at right angles to each other, one of said walls in one of said two sections cooperating with one of said walls in the other of said two Sections for carrying said double faced gear therein, a plate-like wall in said one section cooperating with the other of said Walls in said two sections for carrying said pinion gears, said gears having integral webs and hubs journalled in their respective walls, and means external of said casing sections providing driving connections between said hubs and said shafts.

2. In an airplane drive having a fore and aft extended propeller shaft and tw@ parallel transverse driving shafts, a T-shaped gear casing at the intersection of said shafts, the horizontal leg of the T including a first casing section having two pairs of parallel plate-like walls, a hub journalled in each of said pairs of walls and carrying integral driving bevel pinion gears, each of said hubs having splines thereon external of said casing meshing with cooperating splines on each of said driving shafts, a second casing section having two spaced parallel plate-like walls each perpendicular to and merging with one wall of said pairs of walls in said rst section, a hollow hub journalled in said spaced parallel walls and having an integral web, a driven -bevel gear carried by said web, said bevel gear meshing with one of said pinion gears, a ring gear connected to said web having a bevel opposite to said driven gear for meshing with the other of said pinion gears, and splines on said hollow hub external of said second case section for operatively connecting said propeller shaft to said hub.

DORIS H. RAPUANO, Administratri of Estate of Henry J. Rapuano,

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

